Being a staff member of a community radio station brought me into the world of No Depression in its print form. I’m no longer a paid employee of KDUR in Durango, but I’ve maintained the Tuesday night bluegrass show as a volunteer DJ for a little over 6 years now. It was the Telluride Bluegrass Festival “Blog contest” that brought me back into the No Depression world and I’ve been enjoying reading everyone’s posts and viewing photos and videos. Thanks for the content.
Though we’re a few months into 2009, I thought I might share a “Top 10 Bluegrass Albums of 2008” list that I put together for the radio station named above. I like bluegrass on the grittier side – on the blue side, honky tonk side of bluegrass. Perhaps there are some names in here that No Depression folks will be interested in:
1. Town Mountain, “Heroes and Heretics” – This CD is flat out travelin’, lonesome, blues driven bluegrass. Robert Greer is one of the best singers out there and the band is a tight knit group of good friends. Originals with some Townes, Springsteen and Farrar thrown in for good measure.
2. Chatham County Line, “IV” – The band that continues to be my favorite group in any genre of music. Hearing them perform, “Chip of a Star” off of their latest release was a highlight of my 2008 summer.
3. Steeldrivers, Self-titled – You have to hear this album to believe it. I grew up on southern rock and this album brings the grit of that genre to bluegrass. Also, every song seems to be about moonshine – not a bad topic for a beltin’ out bluegrass number.
4. Longview, “Deep in the Mountains” – Those unfamiliar with this group should seek out all of their albums. This newest configuration of traditionally minded, high lonesome bluegrassers features banjo great J.D. Crowe and tenor singer Lou Reid.
5. Dan Paisley and Southern Grass, “Room Over Mine” – PAISLEY! Nobody else out there doin’ what Dan Paisley does. Go out and get all the Southern Grass album – going back to when Dan’s father, Bob Paisley was leading the way, to this latest release.
6. Michael Cleveland and the Flamekeepers, “Leavin’ Town”. – Cleveland is quickly turning from the role of sideman to lead man with his band the Flamekeepers. I’m glad he was able to find musicians to keep up with his monster fiddle playing.
7. Infamous Stringdusters, Self-titled – With songs like “Four Days in July” and “Loving You” the ‘Dusters keep up their progressive and totally original take on bluegrass. They even snuck Benny Galloway back into the mix with, “You Can’t Handle the Truth” co-written along with Travis Book and Tim Stafford.
8. Blue Moon Rising, “One Lonely Shadow” – This is a lesser known band with an album that grows on me every time I give it a listen. They’ve been around for a while and I think that you’ll be hearing more about them in the near future.
9. Lonesome River Band, “No Turning Back” – Here’s a band that just keeps giving great albums to the world of bluegrass. Sammy Shelor on banjo makes Lonesome River Band one of my favorite groups in modern bluegrass. If you’re not already, get into this band.
10. The Dan Tyminski Band, “Wheels” – An album pretty low on my list for all the hype that it received. I found a lot of the tracks to be on the slower ballad side of things for my taste, but the bluegrass numbers with Tyminski’s signature driving guitar rhythm make this release a must have.
